low running costs and innovative finance. We expect market conditions to remain challenging and
hope the Chancellor's Autumn Statement later this month will help to boost economic growth and consumer confidence." Sue Robinson, director of the RMI National Fran­chised Dealers Association (NFDA), echoed his view. She said: "The economy remains very fragile with external factors such as the European debt crisis affecting its stability. "Although last week's news that GDP was up 0.5% gives encouragement, consumer confidence remains low. "The Chancellor needs to address the lack of consumer confidence in his autumn statement on New car marketNovember 29 by reviewing initiatives that could boost spending."The risersMarket leader Ford and second-placed Vauxhall both improved on their October 2010 performance, the former by 13% to 18,476 units and the latter by 0.2% to 16,008 units. Nissan continued to outperform the market, posting 7.6% growth to 6,385 registrations and inching the Japanese brand ever closer to Peugeot's heels in the year-to-date results.In terms of outright percentage growth year-on-year, the revitalised SsangYong leads the market, but its volume remains miniscule. Land Rover's registrations leapt 63.3% to 3,044 units, with a large boost from Evoque deliveries, while Hyundai and Honda also posted significant increases.The fallersSaab's woes continue, with the Swedish brand's October sales plunging 84% year-on-year to just 60 registrations. That was the worst fall in the market except for Lotus's 93.4% slump - only four cars were registered by the British sports car brand as it continues its network restructure.Many more mainstream brands posted declines, albeit less severe ones. Mazda's October sales were half those of 12 months ago, while Volvo and Mitsubishi also achieved a third fewer registrations. Declines of 40.6% and 17.7% at Aston Martin and Bentley respectively indicate that all is not well in the luxury supercar segment either, further evidenced by Porsche's 9% decline.October Year-to-date 1 Fiesta 7,308 1 Fiesta 84,5062 Corsa 6,300 2 Focus 72,8753 Focus 5,203 3 Corsa 67,2594 Golf 4,400 4 Golf 54,4135 Astra 4,159 5 Astra 53,2016 3 Series 3,664 6 Insignia 41,3097 Polo 3,289 7 Polo 39,9448 Insignia 2,923 8 3 Series 37,3149 Qashqai 2,789 9 Qashqai 33,55210 Jazz 2,472 10 Mini 30,305Top 10 best-sellersSource: www.smmt.co.ukLand Rover EvoquePaul Everitt's views on
October's sales figures
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